The Yellow Wallpaper and Feminism "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story written by the American feminist writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine. The story used first person narrative technique to reveal an American woman who suffered from postpartum depression was kept in an ancestral house for a "rest therapy" by her husband who was self-proclaimed to be a "high-standing" physician. This "rest therapy" force her to leave her baby, forbid her from leaving, writing, and do things she likes. At the beginning when the heroine was still mentally stable, she doubted the effectiveness of the therapy " Personally, I disagree with their ideas" (Gilman, 1892). and tried to persuade her husband that "congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good." (Gilman, 1892) However, without the understanding from the husband and her family, she gradually lose hope and finally drive her to madness. Apprently, the caused of her ultimate collapse is none other than "gender discrimination" and "Macho" the specters that haunted the American society in the 19s. …show more content…
He Keeps her in a room that has a bed nailed to the floor and windows were sealed by fence, has "a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he "takes all care" from her." (Gilman, 1892) Therefore, although the heronie seems getting better physically, she was actually on the edge of a mental breakdown. I really enjoy the reading because it reflected the female status in America in mid 19th century, women cannot manage their own property, cannot sign legal document without husbands' approval, and moreover, when the vast majority of women have became numb under the oppression of society, they also became a part of traditional social prejudices, to oppress other women who like them were suffering